The Empire 8 announced its 2010 Football All-Conference team with senior quarterback Tim Bailey of St. John Fisher College being unanimously selected as Offensive Player of the Year and Alfred University junior linebacker Nick Clark unanimously chosen as Defensive Player of the Year.
Bailey, a second-team selection last season, enters Saturday’s ECAC bowl game with 2,884 yards and 32 touchdowns. He has completed 212 of 327 passes (64.8 percent) with a 166.32 passing efficiency rating. Bailey set single-season school records for completions, yards, and touchdown passes.
Clark is a repeat first-team selection and leads Empire 8 champion Alfred into NCAA play with 80 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss totaling 34 yards. He added two sacks, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and three pass break-ups in regular season play. Clark is also the Saxons’ short-yardage running back and has scored a team-high seven rushing touchdowns.
Junior punter and placekicker Andrew Rogowski of Ithaca College was chosen as the first Special Teams Player of the Year in conference history. He earned first-team all-conference recognition as a punter, averaging 35.3 yards per kick and placing 22 punts inside the 20-yard line. Rogowski also connected on a conference-high nine field goals.
Dave Murray was the unanimous selection as Empire 8 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year in leading Alfred to its first undisputed conference title.
Freshman Austin Dwyer of the Saxons was the unanimous selection as Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He earned first-team all-conference recognition as a running back and all-purpose player, and second-team honors as a return specialist. Dwyer averaged 146.2 yards per game rushing in five conference games and his 273 yards rushing against Ithaca College was the second-most in school history. He ranks 13th in Division III with a per game average of 173 all-purpose yards.
Six other Alfred players joined Clark and Dwyer on the first team. Senior left tackle Zach Morgan repeated as a first-team selection. He and senior center Jeff VanDewalker, also a first-team choice, anchored the Saxons’ line that averaged 403.2 yards of offense per game and allowed only 11 sacks in 10 games.
Senior wide receiver Ryan Thon was named to the all-conference first team after catching 11 touchdown passes in the regular season, the second-most in school history. He set a single-game record with four scoring catches against Hartwick College and also completed his only pass of the season for a 47-yard touchdown.
Junior defensive back Roland O’Brien, junior placekicker Eric Rockwood, and sophomore defensive lineman Mike Raplee were all named to the first-team all-conference unit for Alfred. O’Brien leads the conference with seven interceptions, including one in six consecutive games, and ranks 14th in Division III in interceptions per game. He ranks sixth in the nation with 12 pass break-ups in 10 games.
Raplee has recorded 14 tackles for a combined loss to 44 yards with five sacks for a loss of 18 yards. Rockwood ranks second on the team in scoring (5.6 points per game) and completed a school-record streak of 50 consecutive extra points made earlier this season.
Five players on the St. John Fisher offense joined Bailey on the all-conference first team. Seniors Pete Soehner (repeat selection) and Matt Lowney, and junior Corey Balcerzak keyed an offensive line that led the Cardinals to 42 points and 476.5 yards of offense per game. Junior linebacker Joe Leavell joined the team’s offensive players on the first team. He enters the postseason with 92 tackles, including 46 solo hits, and seven tackles for loss.
Junior wide receiver Ryan Schmidt, freshman running back Ryan Kramer, and junior kick returner Ryan Francis gave the Cardinals three players named Ryan on the first team. Schmidt has gained 1,006 yards receiving with eight receptions per game and 10 touchdowns. Kramer is averaging 5.4 yards per carry with seven touchdowns, and has also caught 36 passes with four scores. Francis averages 29.1 yards per kick return with one returned for a touchdown.
Senior tight end Dan Higgins of Ithaca repeated on the all-conference first team after catching 24 passes for 324 yards and four touchdowns. Senior defensive lineman Andy Haim, junior defensive back Mike Conti, and sophomore defensive back Spencer White of the Bombers received first-team recognition.
Haim finished with 11 tackles for loss and four pass break-ups. Conti intercepted six passes and broke up seven more, returning an interception and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. White totaled 50 tackles, a pair of interceptions, four pass break-ups, and three tackles for loss.
Senior left tackle John Carlson, senior defensive lineman Cody Flanigan, and senior linebacker Ken Goodwin of Springfield College were all named first-team players. Flanigan repeated as a first-team choice and enters ECAC play with 11.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Goodwin has recorded 87 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and intercepted four passes. Carlson leads the offensive line that produces 392.1 rushing yards per game.
Senior defensive lineman Tracy Branch and senior defensive back Terrell Cunningham of Utica College received first-team recognition. Branch registered nine sacks and broke the school career mark in that category. Cunningham made 62 stops, scored two touchdowns, forced two fumbles, and recovered two fumbles.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2010 Football Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
Empire 8 2010 Football All-Conference Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Tim Bailey, St. John Fisher College
Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Clark, Alfred University
Special Teams Player of the Year: Andrew Rogowski, Ithaca College
Rookie of the Year: Austin Dwyer, Alfred University
Coach of the Year: Dave Murray, Alfred University
Football All-Conference Release